speculators from buying properties subsequently evicting or buying out tenants and selling them as tic units to owners with encouragement of other bypassers on the horizon. i've seen many tenants evicted or bought out. bought out means little because they're unable to find another place to live in the city. so, picture this. i have, for instance, aiee. a mother and former tenant evicted recently from in knob hill, a building owned by a real estate investor. her son has to bus across the city to go to school. during the eviction process he didn't have it easy at school. so, families like her, this means a lot for community, diversity and also for our neighborhoods. the second thing is for another client ms. wong is elderly and cared for by her adult son full time. real estate firm urban green investments has more than once asked the tenants to move out,

harassed them and meanwhile ms. wong and her son are still living without heat and most of the windows in her unit are broken. that's in district 8. so, i also [speaker not understood] time lease issue project tenants while living in ti chis do not account for those ready to displace. i urge that you guys, this board of supervisors [speaker not understood] vibrant and diverse [inaudible]. >> thank you very much. next speaker. garv r good afternoon. before i give my statement, i want to read a speech a resident of district 6 prepared with your permission. good afternoon, supervisors. my name is alon de gum. i work at a hotel operated by ka nard house nonprofit. i'm from independent bangladesh where people use their voice for civil rights. i'm here in support of step ants of san francisco. this is a beautiful and rich city. the best thing about san francisco is that there is a

great diversity of cultures and people are able to live here ~ with dignity. people here are very kind, friendly, and willing to help one another, but san francisco is becoming less affordable for many people because it is very expensive to live in this city. we must join together and support [speaker not understood]. converting a tic into condominiums encourages evictions and can lead to homeless people and competition for housing. everyone deserves to have a home and we support people's needs. bangladesh is a small country populated by people mostly poor. people sometimes become homeless after a natural disasters such as floods or tornados, but no government law would cause people to become homeless. america is the most affluent country in the world. we are very happy and lucky to have an opportunity to come here from a different country and make our lives better. however, i was shocked to see so many homeless people living in the dirty streets of san

francisco. [speaker not understood] condo conversions, i fear more people would have to be forced onto the street. as district supervisors for san francisco, we elected you to take the responsibility to support us in creating a better life for our family. please do not support the condo conversion legislation [speaker not understood] use your authority to create more a forbidable housing for people who need it. i think it would be a better idea if we convert some of the vacant buildings here in san francisco into affordable housing. and also help get a hundred signatures for district 6 and petition in support of her speech. [inaudible]. >> you have the remainder of your two minutes. did the final bell -- i'm sorry, no. yeah, thank you. go ahead, next speaker. hi, cynthia cruz, i'm here with league of women voters. we handout guides and education

for young voters across the street. ~ city. i wanted to say that this legislation, and even the amendments are not the answer to providing affordable housing options for san franciscans. i think the amendments are helpingful. ~ helpful. the legislation without amendments are terrible for renters and will certainly price people out of the city entirely. but the path to homeownership should not be littered with displacement of families, of working class, san franciscan seniors, persons with disabilities, artists and activists. these people are being priced out of san francisco at an alarming rate. i hear a lot of arguments that even the amendments have come -- people have come together so that everybody on both sides of the issue -- and that's what i hear a lot, both sides of the issue. i think there are three sides here. there's the tic owners, there are rental rights and renters

people, and also the real estate interests. so, i think that in the -- in trying to argue for the two sides of renter's rights and for developers and real estate interests, that the tic owners are being batted around. and while they've been very helpful in terms of finding some common ground, then i see what's happening now is just that no one's happy. i think that the amendments should be followed up to protect tic owners from the banks that are really causing this problem. we need to repeal costa hawkins. that's not -- i don't see either of those things being championed by someone locally to happen on a state level. and these are the things that need to be looked at, not necessarily -- oh. >> thank you very much. next speaker.

chris [speaker not understood], district 8. i don't know about the amendments and i don't know if my comments are going to be valid for the point with all the amendments that have been offered. let's get real here. the current coverage of this issue is yellow journalism. plan c is a group of realtors with a big plan of getting rid of rent control as its ultimate plan. tic owners are house flipper, wanting to change the rules to benefit them and the mortgage lenders. tic owners know what they were getting into. now they want to bail them out and bail out the mortgage companies. if you bail them out, the renters, disabled seniors,

people with aids and hiv will get sold out. bad house flippers. [speaker not understood]. these house flippers are pouring money into the supervisors' pockets and piggy banks. [speaker not understood] and voters won't stand for this. it's time to end this legislation. file it to the call of the chair or vote it down. if you don't vote it down, you will be voted down. go to hell, plan c. close the tic lottery. shut it down. and i hope it does go to the voters, supervisor chiu. >> next speaker, mr. kohlier. thank you, members of the board. i'm steve kohlier, attorney at the tenderloin housing. [speaker not understood] because we believe it creates the only possible balance to address the needs of tic owners

who are claiming to be in distress and tenants. any watering down of the amendments eliminates that balance. and that's why the costa hawkins issue that supervisor kim spoke about is so important, because one of the key provisions of the amendments is a lifetime lease. our current subdivision code does not have a real lease. it just says the rents have to be maintained for tenants through their life at a certain fixed rate. when costa hawkins was enacted, that was a serious problem for our subdivision code regarding that controlled rent. therefore, we've created as part of this package a real lease that gets recorded that puts all purchasers on notice, and that lease binds subsequent purchasers. costa hawkins has a specific provision that until the subdivider solves sells the unit to somebody, rent control still applies. ~ so, we just want to make sure

that the sale doesn't happen prior to mapping. that's why we suggested the amendment to supervisor kim who is carrying it. what it does is it prevents someone who is seeking to get around the lifetime lease provision from selling the unit with the lifetime limit prior to mapping entering into a contract, and then having the purchaser come into court and say, hey, i didn't know about this lease. i didn't know i was bound by this, and getting a court to set it aside. so, we just want to make sure that it's actually a binding lifetime lease because that is so important in the balance. in other words, if we're going to allow 2400 conversions in the course of a couple of years or three years or four years and we want to make sure [inaudible]. >> thank you, mr. kohlier. next speaker. before you go, let me read the final cards and i'll allow you to speak. miguel guerrera, jesus perez. brian basinger. [speaker not understood].

peter cohan. and then jennifer friedenbach. [speaker not understood], fernando marti. those are all the cards i have. next speaker. my name is theresa [speaker not understood]. i live in the south of market. you know, it did youant matter your amendments because we live in a three-unit building and we're going to be gone after six years, you know. we're not protected. i'm a single mom of three. we live in an inter generational home in the south of market. it is home to our 79 year old dad who has [speaker not understood] cancer, a disabled brother, i have an 87 year old aunt. i have three children, i have five siblings living there. we rely on helping each other. we are filipino americans who live peacefully in our home for the past 35 years. and we've been here in soma for

over 42 -- 42 years. now we're in danger. it doesn't matter what your amendments any more. we'll be wiped out once this passes. our home has been through four landlords since the original filipino-american landlord passed away. the current landlord bought four tenanted properties last year, the end of last year. in the immediate turn around, they sent the same buyout letters to all tenants of the four -- four properties. i don't know what to say. i'm really angry. i'm afraid. and i don't want to be afraid. how dare you. i will say that, and i will say it right in your faces. we the tenants of our building are going through the fourth

round of buyouts. where are your conscience? where? there's a lot of us are going to be affected, thousands of us, including the small unit buildings three and less, four and less that you're talking about. and i'm angry. >> thank you. next speaker. so, those who went through that as a child and i'm -- it's bringing back a lot of memories, very hurtful memories. and also i live with my cousins and i know a lot of kids that also are going through this experience.

and it's really hard seeing when you're young. you wish that, you know, you could just play around, but, no, you have to have this fear lingering in you. am i going to be homeless? i was 8 and i was thinking of that. i wasn't thinking, oh, i need to get my homework done or anything like that because it was affecting me. and i don't want that to affect my cousins or any of the other youth. yesterday me and my can you inches, i was teaching them how to cook and i told them about the condo stuff and they were saying, auntie marty, i don't want to be separated from you. i don't want to be separated from our family. this is not only affecting them. like my mother said, all these people are saying, it's affecting them, too, and there's thousands of us. so, i hope you'll consider us because we're also paying our dues. we're also part of the city.

we're also civilians and we're just trying to live our lives. so, thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. my name is sarah sherman [speaker not understood]. i'm also a renter in san francisco. and thank you all for sitting around for the comments. as you hear that the reality of half the housing situation now in san francisco is many tenants are being pushed out of their homes. many of these are elderly long-term tenants, but because of the amount of money speculators can get out, some of the front lines are being pushed out. and recently i was talking to a man who lived in the unit 18 years and had given the notice, a choice of a buyout or an ellis act. and instead of going to a tenants right appeal, he went

to a tenants warrior. and what they told him was -- that they could ellis act him, that he should take the buyout. so, it was only a matter of time. by the time i had talked to him, he had already signed the paperwork. his unit isn't recorded. his unit could be condo-ized. last time we were here and all the tic owners came out, my unit is clean. how in the (bleep) do you know that? and i think for all of us who lived here a long time or have family members who live here who are vulnerable, and my dad's building was so old. it's like how long do you have to wait on the edge of your seat to see what happens? what does that possibly mean? i believe you all -- you're trying to make a decision about good housing in san francisco

and sometimes the question is about like -- sometimes i wonder if the question really is about tic owners who, when they talk, it sounds like they should have known, but they were conned into believing they could quickly condo-ize their unit after buying them. or is this really about [speaker not understood]? >> thank you very much. [speaker not understood]. >> next speaker. good afternoon, supervisors. sue vaughan. [speaker not understood], i'm not speaking on behalf of the sierra club right now. i have a friend and in 2008 or in 2009 she was forced out of her building on 15th avenue between cabrillo and fulton and she lives in a trailer park in nevada now. but she lived there from 1982. she had a plot in the community garden right next door, gone. that building was converted into tic and conceivably those people in that -- in those tics now, i don't know, but they could be a part of this lottery right now if it's three years. i don't know.

so, i just -- i think the speculation is drive thing whole move here and it's not good for the city. and we're looking for a second dot-com boom right now and it's driving up rents and it's driving this condo conversion thing that's going on, i believe. secondly, i see this legislation as part of an assault on affordable housing here in the city, combined with park merced if the legislation passes. we've got the loss of nearly 4,000 units of rent controlled housing in the city and that is massive. and i believe that you were all concerned about the ability of the legislation to withstand the palmer challenge because you have that little clause in there about a lawsuit. so, you're concerned about that, too. can it withstand that? and i agree with previous speakers. they think you should be

focusing on working at the state level to get the ellis act repealed and to get costa hawkins repealed. and an additional compromise could be that for every unit of affordable housing that is built in san francisco, you could free up one tic to be -- to go -- to be converted into a condominium. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. my name is [speaker not understood] lopez. i'm here because i think that the proposition of the legislation today is not about condo. it's about people. so, it's not about the tenants or about the landlords. they kicked me out [speaker not understood]. i'm a senior. my income is very [speaker not understood] because i'm retired. but i lose not only the place, i lose my friends, my

community, my neighborhood, my hospital. so, i think that they have to often thinking that this proposition that you make happy the [speaker not understood], the people that make the city, the people that make you here in this beautiful city. i think that you have the consideration of old people because the old people is [speaker not understood], is your grandfather, your grandmother. you cannot kick them out, these people. these people deserve better life. [speaker not understood] you cannot send them to the old place they live for 30 years. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. good afternoon, [speaker not understood], supervisors. miguel [speaker not understood] and i work for the coalition on homelessness. so, i want to mention three different things i hear and other thing i have. while facing a housing crisis in our communities in san

francisco, the rent is [speaker not understood] increasing. [speaker not understood]. it's the wrong policy the wrong time. if the city wants to help people become owners, they should not be [speaker not understood] of the tenants. [speaker not understood]. [speaker not understood], don send to the full board. ~ do not in 199 i was displaced in the city. ~ 1997. i said, i want to come back and live in san francisco.

i cannot come back because it's really expensive. in 1998, 2000, the dot-com companies, they increased the rents really high. and the only reason we were displaced, a lot of families, a lot of poor families, a lot of working class. another thing, when i hear them mention the teachers, the police, and other folks that can be honest and [speaker not understood], i cannot support it. i support the teachers because they need. i cannot support the policemen, the police operators to get [speaker not understood], no. because, first, we have a conscience in san francisco. we have many, many homeless people and many homeless families and children and they need the housing. please, don't [speaker not understood] [inaudible]. >> thank you very much. next speaker. good afternoon, supervisors.

my name is jesus [speaker not understood]. and also i work with [speaker not understood]. we have a lot of families that are in the soma area and this can happen, where are all those families going to go? are they going to be living somewhere else, are they going to be homeless or what? so, please, think about this, okay? thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. good afternoon, brian basinger, executive director of [speaker not understood] alliance. i want to thank the supervisors for taking leadership in blunting the worst effects of this proposed legislation and for working with the tenants groups to try and blunt the worst parts of what's going on. i think we want to pay special attention to some of the processes that are used as i previously testified. my building where i was ellis act evicted where i lived 44% of my life, i was the 13th person disabled with aids evicted from my block in two

months -- excuse me, two years. dpw allowed for an illegal condo conversion. that building should have been captured with the no pass [speaker not understood] legislation passed in 2004. and it didn't happen. there was supposed to be the protections of landlord statement they didn't do an eviction of senior or disabled catastrophically ill person under penalty of perjury. there was also supposed to be confirmation through the rent board and also the human rights commission. both of those entities submitved inaccurate statements that were in complete opposition to all the evidence in the files. ~ committed so, clearly the department of public works doesn't have the infrastructure or funding in place to adequately review all existing applications. ~ submitted so, i'm concerned about this new flood of applications that

many buildings that did displace senior or disabled catastrophically disabled tenants will slip through the cracks unless funding in infrastructure. my preference would be to have something -- some kind of oversight outside of the dpw. so, a watchdog because i don't trust the process. and lastly [inaudible]. >> thank you. next speaker. hi, good afternoon, supervisors. first off, i do want to thank the tenants who are sharing their stories. i guess i can relate, myself, as a renter that [speaker not understood] can be done not knowing you can be affected. but my name is ben and i'm actually speaking as a concerned native san franciscan. my family ha been here since i was born. we currently live in a rent

controlled apartment in nob hill for about 17 years now. whip the last two years in a two-block radius i've seen my friends and neighbors ones who live in my block, they were bought out. and the partvs were actually being convert today tic. ~ and these long-term tenants, their lives were up rooted and my friend who was also living in nob hill, they're actually going through an eviction right now. and it's very stressful to see my mom's friend because they don't know where to go and it's very sad to see this. and unfortunately, there's more buildings in my neighborhood in the pipeline of being converted into condominiums and it's always the constant fear for my family especially my mom because seeing this change happening in our block, it acknowledge reality, it's at a time when my family will be the ones we see eviction notices

and my parents seniors will be -- could be facing the exact same situation as mary phillips who is a 97 year old native being evicted out of home in the mission. so, if this legislation were to pass as is, that means that more families and long-term renters will be displaced and possibly including my family and this legislation will also be eliminating rent controlled units in the city. and, so, that is why i'm here today to speak in this proposed legislation that you consider a much more inclusive legislation that won't displace long-term tenants and protect the most vulnerable residents in our city. thanks. >> thank you. next speaker. good afternoon, supervisors. my name is laura leader man. i'm a 38 year resident of san francisco, the last 26 years in district 5. my husband and i own a home, but we have neighbors just a few blocks away who are being ellis act evicted by a serious ellis acter who bought the

building one year ago. as we sell off the city to the highest bidders, access is limited to those with substantial income and threaten our economic diversity and very real human being. with the loss of rent controlled units and dearth of affordable housing of nip kind, we compel working class families and individuals. this disproportionately impacts communities of color and immigrant communities. as we have seen repeatedly occur over the last five decades, past is prelude. [speaker not understood] effective commitment to affordable housing including long-term [speaker not understood], they will find and continue to find strategies to circumvent or wait out restrictions on rent control units to more lucrative properties. to think proposed legislation to protect affordable rent units would signal anything different from that historical fact is naive, irresponsible and ultimately destructive to our community. the chronicle published an

article citing data that the number of homeless families in san francisco had hit a record high in february. that two-thirds of those families are homeless for the first time and that 80% are from san francisco. we all know well that rent has been sky rocketing adding pressure and incentive for owners to ellis act and engage in the 1, 2, 3 process of evicting current tenants buying them out or getting around the condo conversion or alternatively converting the building to tics generating immediate profits with the clear plan of converting to condos down the road. this process forever reduces rent controlled units. to suggest that the nominal fee proposed in this legislation would somehow place an apartment is beyond cynical. even the maximum fee of $20,000 would build what, a small bathroom? i am sincerely appreciative of the [inaudible]. >> thank you very much. next speaker. good afternoon, jennifer friedenbach, coalition of homelessness. i also want to speak as a

resident of san francisco. right now san francisco you're all very aware is at a critical juncture. right now we have such a severe housing crises, rents are sky rocketing. we have 2200 children in san francisco unified schools that are homeless. just last year, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of households were displaced. we need to draw a line in the sand. we need to halt it and we need to try to preserve as much as we can every household in san francisco. the fact that during this time that this legislation was introduced was frankly pretty flabbergasted. i want to talk about just my block, and i actually wrote, you know, put together a graph that was so crowded with information it was unreadable. i'm going to try to summarize it a bit. on the 2700 block of harrison on just the east side of the block, we've had four households that were bought out.